began as a cycling blog - "Discovering America on 2 Wheels" - in Dec 2009. Since then it's become much more. It is an irreverent, humorous and introspective way of sharing my daily lifestyle, interests, opinions and life challenges. It is a Labor of Love that is Raw, Uncut and Real Time straight from my Heart, Mind and Life to You. So I hope you Read, Enjoy and Become Involved in My Discovery and, in so doing, learn more about Yourself, the World Around You and Your Own Path to Discovery!

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Thursday, February 5, 2015

I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to rewind back to last Sunday morning when I got up and decided to take a whirl around the San Juan Scenic Byway.... arguably one of the most beautiful drives in America.... and the World!

It wasn't something I had planned.... the weather had been pretty overcast for several days.... but Sunday dawned clear and I realized I was planning on returning to Santa Fe and this might be my last opportunity to see this part of the country.

I mentioned in a post I did that morning that I had a lot of ratkilling to do..... and I did.

One of the main things I had to do that morning was to do my daily early morning review of furnished rentals in Durango and Santa Fe on Craigslist. I've found this is the best resource for getting reasonably priced furnished rentals in whatever destination you desire.

I hadn't found anything in Durango but had several I had emailed and called about in Santa Fe....

So I spent at least 30 mins to an hour going through Craigslist and weeding out the possibles.

The 2nd thing that was on my mind was doing a big cooking of a lot of stuff so that I had some good Paleo stuff to eat on for at least 2 - 3 days.

Now the problem was that my motel room at the Iron Horse Inn in Durango didn't have a cooktop.

I had asked the motel manager about this when I called and he told me there was another "common area" that had a stove in it that I could use.

It turned out this was an equipment storage / overflow room for appliances and other items that they were installing in newly remodeled rooms but sure enough it had a stove in it.

So I prep'd everything I was gonna cook back in my room.... how did I do all this prep?

I had all the necessary tools / utensils with me.... French Cook knife, cutting board, plastic containers and a laundry basket..... all of which I bought in Santa Fe when I first arrived there in late December.

As you can see from these pics..... I basically have a full blown kitchen with me complete with cooking oil, spices, seasonings and all my vitamins / minerals / supplements.....

Now you know why I travel with 2 suitcases...... one is clothes and personal items, the other is everything else required to maintain and sustain a healthy lifestyle....

Which includes the ways and means to cook my own meals!

So basically, I loaded everything in my laundry basket.....

Carefully packaging all the parts and pieces of the meals that were to be added to the meal in separate containers...

And then moved everything to the room where the oven was.....

After some quick leveling of the stove with some available cardboard..... I was in business!